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“Organizations want to make more video, but aren’t allocating the funds to do so… Don’t let budget concerns keep you from telling your story in the most compelling way possible.” I wonder if (hope?) this means more nonprofits will take the DIY route, meaning we’ll see more awesome vids like this one which features the rabbi and chazzan from (one of) my shul(s): http://youtu.be/Ml5bcTq2TOk. Not what See3 wants to hear, I’m sure, but by golly if the shul didn’t exceed their goal, and continue to raise money today. Here’s an example of a slightly more produced vid from JTS’ ReFrame that most folks already have the technology to create on their computers: http://bit.ly/11dnz5m. Sure, it’s not as spiffy as some of the stuff See3 and Edelman do, but it’s just as impactful – maybe moreso for the folks who were in the room at the time it was shot.

“Video, like websites before it, will become one of those communications tools that are indispensable to organizations.” With 2013 being the “year of the video” and all, I would argue that videos are already indispensable. I’m just not convinced that you need a whole bunch of money to hire a big firm or to start a video production department to make your point. I know we’re fond of stressing the “social” in “social media;” why should video content be any different? It’s true that in many cases, we viewers demand high gloss and production value, but when it comes to nonprofits, I think we’d prefer to feel confident that our donations are going to a good cause rather than make-up and lighting.

So, good for See3 , YouTube, and Edelman for launching the study. Nonprofits use and NEED to use video differently than most other folks. I expect – nay, demand – high quality vid production from pop musicians, art films, oil companies, etc. But I’d be much more likely to care about a good cause if my friend showed me a funny/shocking/moving video he shot about it in 30 seconds with his cell-phone camera, than if a random stranger showed me a fancy-schmancy 6-minute video it took a dozen people several weeks and thousands of dollars to make.

Miriam hits it right on the head in the first paragraph: “video accounts for some of the most engaging and emotionally compelling content available.”

Yep. We at G-dcast (a Jewish media production company) agree. We have seen time after time that there’s a magic in video that unlocks tricky ideas for kids and adults and inspires further learning. Many times, I see a kid watch one of our shorts and come away fired up about learning more from the original Torah or Talmud source. It’s very satisfying.

Important to keep in mind, also, is that one shouldn’t make a video just to make a video. Remember the lessons of the (first) dot com boom/bust: just because you have a fun idea doesn’t mean it’s a good video project for you to invest your hard-won funds into. Think hard about your goal in producing a video – do you want to teach something? Convert people to newsletter subscribers? Raise money? All these things are possible but as See3 says, they require planning, testing and expertise from educators, marketers or fundraisers respectively. And you should make a video when a video is the BEST way to tackle the goal. If a page of text would be just as good, do that instead.

As a video producer I am all for the use of more of video by non-profits. That said, I would recommend reading this report with a grain of salt. YouTube’s involvement puts any findings into question. It should not be a surprise that a report produced by YouTube is encouraging greater investment in online video.

The last point raised by the article above is really most important: “have a goal for your video and determine whether you’ve hit it.” This is the best measure of success.

Alan, See3 loves to hear about DIY video! While we make awesome professional productions, our primary work is to help organizations achieve their missions, not make videos. The way we see it is like a pyramid, where the foundation is in-house with lots of content and the smaller part are a few key professional productions that have a long shelf-life. In fact, we are launching a product called Propelit, to help orgs get their constituents to make iPhone videos — it’s starting Beta testing and you can see more about it here http://see3.com/see3-labs/ And we have training programs to help orgs figure out and develop their own in-house capacity.

Sarah – your work at G-dcast is AWESOME and has been a game-changer in online storytelling in the Jewish community. Totally agree — let real goals drive your tactics and beware the shiny objects.

Noah — I can understand why you might think YouTube would want to promote online video. But the truth is, they don’t have to. It’s massive. No need to fake it. YouTube doesn’t need nonprofits to make money. Like Google, they have some programs to help nonprofits that are very small for them, and big for the nonprofits. The YouTube Nonprofit Program gives nonprofits things no one else gets, including clickable annotations that let you create links in videos to outside websites. (Everyone can use annotations, only nonprofits can make those links go outside of YouTube.) (So if your org isn’t in the nonprofit program, it should be.) And just to say, YouTube did not have editorial control of this report, it was done independently with the input and support of the three sponsoring organizations. YouTube gave us some data from their platform that they had never released.

Hi Everyone, I just came across this article and it gives great insight into this topic. Our company produces a large amount of films for the Jewish non-profit world, possibly one of the most. Over the last 2 years we have seen an increase in spending for films overall. I cant agree more that video is key to every marketing plan out there for non profits, but like I always tell my clients, its a tool in your overall strategy. If you dont have a strategy the video wont really have an ROI and do anything for your cause.

Todays generation is all tech savvy, online and mobile. If a non profit doesn’t have a presence online and have films, they wont reach this generation. People ask me all the time why do you want to work with non profits? I explain easily, that I love to work on projects that mean something and make a difference. We produced a film a few years back that today on a weekly basis I get comments on and more important has made an impact all over the world. Thats a great feeling and is worth more than a corporate video.

The future is here and its changing on a constant basis. Its important as a creative company to stay on its toes and keep on creating content that is fresh, stay current on technologies to help make better films and have a strong passion for this space.

So thank you for this article and thanks to See3 for the study.

Think BiG

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